Breathing Room
I watched his breathing. At times it was barely perceptible other times it was labored, loud and had some shakiness to it. I hoped and prayed that he wouldn't die during the three hours while I sat with him. It was my first time visiting, it got scheduled the way they usually do.
Initially the hospice coordinator sends out an email to see if any of the volunteers are available for a given case. She provides basic information; the day/time preferred, the town and a general synopsis of the situation. She'll tell us if anyone else will be in the home or if there are pets and give a brief sentence about the condition of the patient. It's almost always some form of cancer, the second runner up is COPD.
Usually the caregiver just needs to get out a few hours for work, doctor appointments or some other urgent matter. There have been several occasions where I relieved the caregiver so they could make funeral arrangements. That is such a sad and necessary outing. Once at a support meeting for hospice volunteers, a peer complained that the caregiver she relieved went out to play poker with friends. I don't judge what the caregiver does with their time away. Providing care to someone who is terminally ill is difficult, if you want to take time off to play poker or have a beer, I am totally cool with that.
After the first email goes out, volunteers will alert the coordinator if they can take on the case. Once that is done a secure, private message is sent to the volunteer best suited for the task. This confidential message provides more in-depth information about the patient including the name and number of the main contact. Then the volunteer calls that person to schedule the visit.
My initial call for today's visit happened two days ago. The wife needed about 3 hours to run some errands and I told her my available hours. Ginny sounded tense on the phone, I could hear the strain in her voice. You might think that's the norm but oddly enough, it isn't. Most of the families I have dealt with have poise and calm that I can only attribute to denial, exhaustion or some Zen like state that I have not yet obtained. Ginny was how I think I would sound if our roles were reversed. We agreed to the schedule and I told her that I would confirm the morning of my visit just to make sure we were still on. This is a sad and necessary precaution, as you do not want to ring someone's doorbell and find out that their beloved passed away the day before. It happens.
I called again this morning to make sure we were still on. Ginny sounded the same as the first call and I gently repeated the agreed upon times. When I got to the house, I greeted their neighbor in the driveway. She informed me that she would relieve me if Ginny ran late. Then I let myself in through the back kitchen door. I announced my arrival and Ginny welcomed me from a distant room. This is not uncommon as the tasks of terminal care can make it hard to leave the bedside. I made my way to the correct room and introduced myself.
The next 20 minutes was a series of harried movements and Ginny's out loud mental checklists and a final dose of pain medication before she could leave. In these moments I witnessed a love that was so sweet it broke my heart. Ginny crawled into bed with Bill and explained where she was going, who I was, and that she would be back soon. It pained her to leave his side though I could tell she needed to leave for her own sake. Just a couple of hours to not be surrounded by the inevitable death of a man she has given the past 47 years to, the love of her life.
In a private moment in the kitchen, Ginny told me that she didn't understand why he was holding on. I asked if he was waiting for a visitor to say goodbye, a final conversation? She said she asked him but he didn't confide in any such need. Sometimes the body lasts longer than you can possibly imagine, other times it expires in such a rapid decline even the most experienced hospice nurse doesn't see it coming. Death is fickle and unpredictable even to the stewards who've witnessed it hundreds of times.
Ginny was finally able to pry herself away and I sat in the room with her love. Saying silent prayers, reading a book and keeping one eye on my bedridden friend. He was quiet until he needed to go to the bathroom. This was indicated with hand gestures and a reach for the portable urinal. A bit of panic always goes through me in these instances. My first concern is safety followed closely by privacy.
I'm not a nurse, nor do I play one on TV. I've been in the trenches and I can handle a mess. What I don't want to do is accidentally cause someone with brittle bones to get a fracture by moving them the wrong way. My Aunt had bone cancer and she broke both her legs trying to bathe herself, it was horrible. I think of her when I'm in these situations so I air on the cautious side.
We got through it without breaking anything and he fell back into a restless sleep. His agitation level at times made me wonder if he had just hours or days left. In the nearly 10 years I have been doing this I've seen many patients get into a state of agitation; flailing limbs, mumbling and a burst of energy followed by calm. This has happened in the last few days of life for many of the people I have visited as a hospice volunteer.
I'm not sure if Ginny will call me again to sit with her husband. If she does, I will make room for her and Bill. I will take the experience with me and think of them when I drive by their house. It's something I do often when I drive past the houses where I have visited my hospice friends. Sometimes it's a single encounter, other times I spend months visiting on a set schedule. Every experience is sacred and is something that becomes a part of me. The sad truth is, we are all going to die. The hospice patient just has a little advance notice
(This post originally appeared on Was That My Out Loud Voice.)
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About the Author ~
I'm Bryce Warden – (Psst…that isn’t my real name) I have a shady sordid past and a husband who adores privacy…so voila, call me Bryce. I’ve been with my husband for over twenty years and I’m still crazy about him. He’d say I’m “just crazy”, close enough. I also have a small business where I help people and pets and I am a hospice volunteer. I have lots of stories to tell; some are funny and others will break your heart. You can read more about my personal midlife crisis at Was That My Out Loud Voice